LUBBOCK, Texas (November 10, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University cross country teams each earned automatic bids to the NCAA National Championships after sweeping the team titles at the NCAA Mountain Regional.
The women started the day off strong, easily winning the team title with a total of 39 points.
Gracelyn Larkin took the individual title after finishing first in a time of 19:19.7, a full five seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
Aliandrea Upshaw and
Ruby Smee placed sixth and seventh, respectively, with times of 19:44.3 and 19:45.1.
Maggi Congdon saw an impressive race as she finished 10
th with a time of 19:47.4.
Maisie Grice rounded out the scoring for the 'Jacks, finishing 15
th in a time of 19:55.2. All five of NAU's scorers earned All-Region honors.
Also competing but not scoring were
Nikita Moore and
Anna Fenske, who finished 27
th and 39
th. Moore ran a time of 20:20.0 while Fenske ran a time of 20:38.9.
The NAU women were followed in team scoring by No. 3 BYU (59), No. 20 Utah (120), No. 13 Colorado (131), and No. 22 Utah Valley (136).
The men continued the Lumberjack's dominance, taking the team title with a score of 36 points, the second-lowest winning team score in Mountain Region history.
Nico Young closed hard in the homestretch to place second with a time of 28:59.6.
Kang Nyoak saw his best effort of the season, finishing fifth in a time of 29:10.0.
Drew Bosley and
Aaron Las Heras placed seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 29:12.2 and 29:12.5.
Brodey Hasty was the final NAU scorer, finishing 14
th with a time of 29:22.0. All five scorers earned All-Region honors.
Also running for NAU but not scoring were
Santiago Gomez-Prosser and
Colin Sahlman. Gomez-Prosser placed 15
th with a time of 29:24.3 while Sahlman finished 22
nd with a time of 29:41.8.
The NAU men were followed in team scoring by No. 3 BYU (89), No. 19 New Mexico (97), No. 24 Air Force (112), and Montana State (135).
The Lumberjacks will be headed back to Charlottesville, Va. next week for the NCAA National Championships on November 18. The meet will be hosted by the Virginia Cavaliers with the women's race beginning at 8:20 a.m. MST and the men's race following at 9:10 a.m. MST.
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